OCR Text |
Show ‘on wants to see (ti (eh uppose theygave away Oscars, and nobody The year of movies that (s) (CC) become an Oscar show that nobody watches. The Academy P it, movies with “depth” but not “breadth.” Seriously. The slide in ratings for the big telecast has been pronounced for years, and the number of viewers is very much connected to people sitting down to watch their favorite stars compete on something thatisn’t a skating rink or dance floor. What do you get when the acting nominees areall character players, and the movies areall “sleeperhits,” code for profitable cheapies that few people saw? Whenthe producersof “Brokeback Mountain”feel compelled to let us know that they just becamethe top box office draw of the nominated films, passing “Crash,” which has been out on DVDforever, and only after two solid months of being the only movie to generate any publicity atall, well, there's trouble in RiverCity. Morepeople saw “Fahrenheit 9/11,” a documentary, than saw any of the nominated films or performances. More people saw the penguin documentary. That’s pathetic. Granted, the major studios didn't exactly fill the multiplex with movies the award-oriented could get behind. And someof the very best workof the year was recognized. But teeny tiny movies from “Junebug”to “Hustle & Flow,” “Capote” to “Syriana,” produced the nominees. There's no “big movie”vs. “underdog small movie” competition when they'reall small movies. USA Today wentafter that idealistic notion that where Hollywood leads, audiences will follow. It probably won't happen. Yes, everybody’s talking “Brokeback.”It’s in the lexicon, andit’s still doing modestly well. But will we “quit” on the spit by March 5? The guy who nicknamed the Oscars “the gay super bowl” was moreright than he could have known.But who tunes in whenits Charlottevs. San Diego, worse yet, when San Diego's favored by five touchdowns? (N) skiing: men’s aerials final; snowboarding: women'sparallel giant slalom final. Tape) (s) (CC) 2 nobody went to is about to Awards are about to become the priciest “niche audience” oan (s) (CC) (s) (TV) (N)(8) NI DNIAVLS Thursday.Evening. Four Seasons. (co) (cc) ‘eS (N) (CC) off. (Same-day oom (CC) (DVS) State at BYU. remaining sonecte E (N) (s) (s) (CC) aceon ; 8 eo 9007 '€z Aueniqay‘Kepsiny, ‘pievaH Ayea DONTELEVISION The Oscars that no one |